In light of the CDC recommendation to cancel large gatherings for the next 8 weeks, Blackburn Center has made the decision to cancel Walk a Mile in Her Shoes 2020. We appreciate the enthusiasm and support the community has shown for this event over the past nine years, and are looking forward to hosting a delayed 10th anniversary event in spring 2021. Blackburn Center’s mission is grounded in the concept of providing for safe and healthy communities. We stand with our local

In the past six months, issues that have long been central to our agency’s mission, such as ending domestic and sexual violence, have become topics of national conversation. From the #MeToo movement that brought issues of sexual assault and sexual violence to the forefront to the controversy surrounding White House staff with histories of domestic violence, we have been talking about important topics in a way that many never thought possible. Many of these conversations are

The numbers for our 2017 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event are in! This year, despite the cold and rainy weather, we had over 1,100 walkers — plus at least a dozen dogs and even a pet skunk in a stroller! This number rivals those of previous years, when we had temperatures in the 60’s and sunny, cloudless skies — demonstrating the commitment of our walkers (and their pets) to this amazing event. Rain or shine, you show up, and we appreciate you for doing so. This year, we had a

In just a few days, we will be kicking off our seventh annual Walk A Mile In Her Shoes®! Since 2011, our signature event has brought together the Westmoreland County community to raise awareness and start a conversation about how we can each take action to end gender-based violence in our own lives. This year, we are hoping to see more than 1,500 men, women and children at our walk — learning about the root causes of domestic and sexual violence, taking the pledge, and hopefu

At Blackburn Center, we envision a world free from domestic and sexual violence and other forms of violence. We can all work toward making this vision a reality through taking action in our own lives. As we discussed in a previous blog post, What Can YOU Do?, there are many ways that you can take action, like donating or volunteering, speaking out, or educating others. This week, we are discussing the importance of standing up against domestic and sexual violence in a visible

It’s that time of year again! Time to dust off your favorite high heels (or sneakers! Or roller skates!), get out your markers and poster board, and walk a mile in her shoes! Our 2017 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event will take place on April 22, 2017 at St. Clair Park in Greensburg — register here! Since 2010, Blackburn Center has hosted its signature event, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®. This walk is Westmoreland County’s march to stop rape, sexual assault and all forms of gende

We are less than 2 weeks away from our signature event, Walk A Mile In Her Shoes®! This year, we are hoping to see more than 1,000 men, women and children at our walk — raising awareness, taking the pledge, and with some luck, enjoying a beautiful spring day! Every year, our walk gets bigger and better. The event kicks off at St. Clair Park in downtown Greensburg, where we’ll have lots of yummy breakfast foods (thanks to Dunkin Donuts and Uncle Charley’s Sausage), a DJ, pic

Next month, Blackburn Center will be hosting its signature event, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes at St. Clair Park in Greensburg. As with our previous Walks, the cornerstone of this event will be the Pledge to End Gender Violence. This pledge was inspired by Jackson Katz’s “10 Things Men Can Do to Prevent Gender Violence,” and highlights the important role of men in our organization’s work. Although domestic and sexual violence disproportionately impacts women, it is not a “women

It’s that time of year again! Time to dust off your favorite high heels (or sneakers! Or roller skates!), get out your markers and poster board, and walk a mile in her shoes! Our 2016 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event will take place on April 16, 2016 at St. Clair Park in Greensburg — register here! Since 2010, Blackburn Center has hosted its signature event, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®. This walk is Westmoreland County’s march to stop rape, sexual assault and all forms of gende

My name is Laura Fontana and I am a senior at SHU and the spring Greensburg Community Development Corporation intern. I want to share my adventure in downtown Greensburg before I graduate and leave for grad school. It started on a Friday night supporting a friend who was given the opportunity to play the organ at the First Presbyterian Church on South Main Street. Seton Hill students performed organ music that filled this majestic space with sounds that was very pleasing. I

The numbers are in....2015 was our biggest walk yet! We had 1,100 walkers at our 5th annual Walk a Mile In Her Shoes! Absolutely incredible! We are so grateful for such amazing community support -- thank you all! If you'd like to see pictures of our walk -- including team pictures, check out our Facebook page for all of the pictures taken by Skysight Photography. Feel free to tag yourself and others in the pictures -- and please share these great shots of our event! Here is

We are just a few days away from our signature event, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes! If you haven’t registered yet, you have just a few days left to do so — online registration will close on Friday at 9 a.m. But don’t worry — you can always register in person at St. Clark Park on Saturday morning! For those who use social media, we invite you to use the hashtag #WalkBlackburn for your posts about pictures about the Walk. Use it on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (or anywhere else

I walk because I want others to know I am there for them when they are ready to talk and they are not alone in their struggle. Too many feel they are isolated, and they need to know they are loved and respected. Why do YOU walk? ————————————————————————————- Please note that the views expressed by guest bloggers represent their own personal views, and not necessarily those of Blackburn Center. Learn More: Register for an Event Guest Bloggers Volunteer Donate #guestbloggers #

Our annual Walk a Mile In Her Shoes event is one of Blackburn Center’s signature opportunities to showcase the role that men can – and do – play in supporting our vision of communities free from domestic and sexual violence. While our walkers include women and children as well as men, the focus of the walk is on engaging men in Blackburn Center’s mission to end gender violence. Men from the community participate in a public reading of our pledge, Ten Things Men Can Do To End

We walk together in honor of a friend who was a victim of domestic violence. It has been three years since he brutally took her life. We walk to remember her, to honor her, and to spread the message that domestic violence is an issue that we, as a society, cannot tolerate any longer. ————————————————————————————- Please note that the views expressed by guest bloggers represent their own personal views, and not necessarily those of Blackburn Center. Learn More: Register for an

I walk for my mom, Mariann Clark. She was an education specialist at Blackburn Center and truly believed in her work. She taught my brother and I that violence in any form is not "ok". My mother had a passion for educating people of all ages and although it was weird to have her visit in my high school classes, I had many classmates compliment her education style and how they thought about domestic violence in a different way after hearing her speak. Walk A Mile In Her Shoes

Each year, our Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event gets bigger, from a few hundred walkers in 2010 to close to 1,000 in 2014 (and hopefully, closer to 1,500 walkers in 2015!). We have such amazing community support, and are incredibly grateful that so many of you have embraced this cause. Our walkers are a diverse bunch — from collegiate student-athletes to parents to medical students to business owners to young children to grandparents to roller derby teams, we have an entire s